The use of computers, robotics, and imaging to aid orthopedic surgery is well known in the art. There has been a great deal of study and development of computer-aided navigation and robotics systems used to guide surgical procedures. For example, a precision freehand sculptor (PFS) employs a robotic surgery system to assist the surgeon in accurately cutting a bone into a desired shape. In interventions such as total hip replacement, computer-aided surgery techniques have been used to improve the accuracy, reliability of the surgery. Orthopedic surgery guided by images has also been found useful in preplanning and guiding the correct anatomical position of displaced bone fragments in fractures, allowing a good fixation by osteosynthesis.
A cut guide can be used in an orthopedic surgery to assist a surgeon in cutting or modifying some portions of a target bone. For example, in joint replacement surgeries such as total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR), a cut guide can be temporarily attached to the target bone such as a femur or a tibia. An orthopedic surgical cutting tool can be used together with the cut guide to allow the surgeon to selectively cut portions of the ends of the target bone and replaced with endoprosthetic implants. Positioning a cut guide for use in preparing the target bone can be a time consuming and complicated process, which is critical to positive outcomes for the patient.